Democrats and Republicans: In Their Own Words

Democrats and Republicans:
InTheirOwn Words

A 124 Year H istory of M ajor C ivil R ights E fforts

B ased on a S ide- by- S ide C om parison

of the E arly P latforms of the

Two M ajor Political Parties

Introduction:

W hat is a Party P latform?

A party platform is a document produced by a political party every four years
(prior to each presidential election) that sets forth that party's beliefs and values as
well as its policy positions on important issues of the day W hile a platform ad-
dresses dozens of issues and sets forth that party's vision for A merica, this booklet
has compiled the position of the two major parties only on civil rights and racial
justice issues - a subject at the forefront of A merican policy debates for decades.

The Democrats and Republicans platform declarations on this subject that ap-
pear in this booklet commence with the year 1840 and continue until the 1964 plat-
form immediately preceding thecreation and passageof the thrffi major landmark
civil rights measures in 1964 and 1965:the24* amendment abolishing the poll tax,
thei964 Civil RightsAct,and thei965 VotingRightsAct.Thesecivil hghtsdecla-
rations repeal how, or whether, the parties embraced the belief set forth in the
Declaration of I ndependencethat "all men are created equal, and are endowed by
thei r C reator with certai n i nalienable rights."

The following ejcerpts have been taken directly from the platforms and have
not been altered. A nnotations have been added to chronidethe history of specific
civil rights events and issues mentioned by the platforms across the years.

On Ricin Justice & Civil Rights

The D[m ocRus'PnTfonH
1840. 1844. 1848

A II efforts by abolitionists ... to in-
terfere with questions of slavery ... are
calculated to lead to the most alarming
and dangerous consequences and . . . have
an inevitable tendency to diminish the
happiness of the people and endanger the
stability and permanency of the union. *

1852

T he D emocratic Party will resist all
attempts at renewing - in C ongress or
out of it - the agitation of the slavery
question [i.e., will oppose all efforts to
abolish slaver^.

1856

T he D emocratic Party . . . will abide
by and adhere to a faithful execution of
the acts . . . settled by the C ongress of

t In theyears preceding this platform, numer-
ous occasionshad arisen in C ongressin which pro-
slavery forces sought to extend slavery and anti-
slavery forces sought to prohibit it. For example,
in l820,theDemcicraticCongresspasedtheM is-
33uri C ompromi a T hat I aw fi rst rqDeal ed the pro-
visions of the original 1789 anti-slavery law for-
bidding the extension of slavery into any federal
territory and then authorized theextaision of sla-
N^yintonawfeda^ territories. Founding Fathere
still alive at that time- including John Adams,
Thorres Jefferson, and Rufus King - loudly de-
nounced the M issouri Compromis and the ex-
pansion of slavery Subaquentlyjohn Q uincyAd-
arre and Daniel Webster became congressional
leaders i n opposi ng slavery whi lethoffi such asj ohn
C . C alhoun fought aggressi\^y to strengthen and
s<pand it.Thisplank in theDemocratic platform
condamedtheeffbrts of abolitionists such asjohn
Qui ncy Adams (a member of Congress at that
time; and titled thehdi-hound of abolition for his
efforts against slavery), asserting that the aid of
slavery would not only reduce the happiness of
Amaica but would also lead to its destruction.

The REPUBllCkHS'PiATFORM

1840. 1844. 1848

[Republican Party not yet formed.]

1852

[Republican Party not yet formed.]

1856 1

A s our R epublican fathers, when they
had abolished slavery in all our national
territory ordained that no person shall
be deprived of life, liberty or property

tThlswastheflrst Republican platform, and
it contained only nine planks; however, six of
the nine set forth bold declarations of equality
and civil rights for African-Americans, based
on the principles enshrined in the Declaration
of I ndependence. This emphasis on racial jus-
tice was the primary reason that the Republi-
can Party was formed.

I n M ay 1854, the Derrocratic- control led Con-
gress pasKd the Kansas- N ebra^a Act, extend-
ing slavery into federal territories where it had
pra/i ousi y been forbi dden, th us i ncreea ng the na-
tional area in which slavery would be permitted.
This law led to what was called "blading Kan-
sas " where pro- si avery forces came pouri ng i nto
the territory and fought violent battles against
theanti-daveryinhabitantsof that territory Fol-
I cwi ng the passage of thi s pro- si avery I aw, a num-
ber of the anti - si avery D errocrats i n C ongress -
along with anti -d avery members from other po-
litical partieSiindudingtheWhig^FnK-Soilers,

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir O/i h Words

The Dem ocRns'PinfouM

1850: "the act for reclaiming fugitives
from service or labor." * . . . [We sup-
port] non-interference by Congress
with slavery in state and territory or in
the District of Columbia [i.e., we op-
pose all congressional attempts to abol-
ish slavery in any area of the nation].

1860

The Democrat Party will abide by
the decision of the Supreme C ourt of
the U nited States upon these questions
of constitutional law. "... [T]he en-

t T he 1850 act mentioned here (the Fugiti\«
Slave Lowv) was passed by the Democratically-
oontrolled Congress That lawv required North-
erners to return escaped slaves back into da\/ery
or elsepay suereand repressive fines In rreny
instances, thelawv became little more than an ex-
cuse for southern sla\/ehunters to kidnap Free
Blacks in the North and force them into slavery
intheSouth. If ablack was simply accused of be
ingadave- regardlessof whether heactuallywas
or not- undertheFugiti\«Sla\«Lawhewasd&
nied the benefit of both ajury trial and the right
cfhabeascorpus, despite the fact that those rights
were explicitly guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Fugitive Slave Law was disastrous for blacks
in the N orth, and as a consequence of the atro-
dous provisions of thislaw,some20,000 blacksin
the N orth fled the U nited States to C anada I n
fact, the U ndergxjund R ai I road reached the hei ght
of its activity during this period, helping thou-
sands of sl aves escape from sl a\iery i n the South
al I the way i nto C anada si rrpl y to escapethe reach
of the Fugitive Sla\ie Law that the Democrats
passed and were affirming in this plank.

tt This plank affirms the support of the
D emocrat Party for the recently delivered 1857
D rerf Sojtt ded si on decl ari ng that bl acks were not
persons but i nstead were property and therefore

The Repusuchhs'Platform

without due process of law, it becomes
our duty to maintain this provision of
the Constitution against all attempts to
violate it for the purpose of establishing
slavery in the territories of the U nited
States. . . . [W]e deny the authority of
Congress, of aterritorial legislation, [or]
of any individual or association of indi-
viduals, to give legal existence to slavery
in any territory of the U nited States. +

1860

[W ]e brand the recent reopening of
theAfricansla\«trade- underthecover
of our national flag, aided by perversions
of judicial power ** - as a crime against

and Emancipationists- formed the Republican
Partytofightslavery and secure equal civil rights
for black A mericans. The name of the new party
reflected its committment to theprindples of free-
dom and equality first set forth in the governing
documents of the"Republic"(hence"Republican")
before pro- slavery members of C ongresshad per-
verted those original principles.

t This plank reiterates Republican support for
the original anti-slavery acts of the early federal
government. Specifically thisplank affirmsRepub-
lican support for the prindples expressed in the
original 1789 federal anti- slavery I aw (the North-
west Ordinance), in which the Founding Fathers
("our Republican fathers^') forbade slavery in any
of the federal ta-ritories then held. As a result,
Ohio, I ndiana, I Hi noisi Wisconsin, M innesota, and
other states entered the nation as free states.

tt W hen the Constitution was written in
1787 , theoverwhel mi ng majority of states wanted
to ban the slave trade but strenuous objelions
from N orth CarDlina, South Carolina, and Geor-
gia presented that ban from being included in
theConstitution. H cwa/er, aclausewassucoess-
f ul I y i nserted i n the C onsti tuti on al I owl ng C on-
gress to ban the slave trade i n twenty years I n
1794, Congress banned the exportation of slaves

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights

The Dem ocRns'PinrouM

actments of the state legislatures to de-
feat the faithful execution of the Fugi-
tive Slave L aw t are hostile in charac-
ter, subversive of theConstitution, and
rejo\ utionary i n thei r effect.

had no rights. That infamous decision by the
Court announced that African Americans "had
no rights which the white man was bound to re-
spect; and that the Negro might justly and law-
fully be reduced to slavery for his benefit." N ot
only did D emocrats affirm their support for this
decision with this plank in their platform but they
even distributed copies of theDredSmtt decision
along with their platform to affirm their belief
that it was proper to have slavery and to hold
African Americans in bondage

t The attempts by the "state legislatures to
defeat thefaithful execution of theFugitiveSlave
L aw" (refer to the note about this law on previ-
ouspage) refer to what were called "Personal Lib-
erty L aws" passed by N orthern anti - si avery states.
These laws provided that if an individual was ac-
cused of being a slave, he could have the benefit
of an attorney, the right of habeas corpus, and a
jury They also prohibited state officials from
assissting in thereturn of anyfugitive slave E ach
of these legal protections were direct affronts to
the atrocious federal law.

TheFugitiveSlaveL aw, passed bytheDemo-
cratic C ongress, had been designed to assist slave
owners. For example, under that law a $10 fee
was paid to a federal official who ruled that a
black wasarunawayslavebutonlyss wk paid if
heruledthatthebl ack was f rffi: N ot surpri si ngl y
I n the decade fol I cwi ng the passage of the F ugi -
tiveSla\«LoW, 332 individualswereruled tobe
runaway slaves but only 11 frs: Furthermore
under the Fugivite Slave Law, federal marshals
were authorized to impressanydtizen into hunt-
ing for a slave, thereby making every citizen -
even anti-slavery citizens- assist in sending es-
caped siavesbackintoslaveryThe"Personal Lib-
erty Laws" about which the Democratic platform
here complains were an attempt by N orthern
states to protect the constitutional rights of Af-
rican Americans.

The REfilBUCUIS'PLATFORM

humanity and a burning shame to our
country and age; and we call upon C on-
gress to take prompt and efficient mea-
sures for the total and final suppression
of that execrable traffic, ^t

out of any state and on January 1, 1808 - in ac-
cordancewiththeconstitutional prcwi si on -Con-
gress completely banned the slave trade I n the
1857 D rarf Scott dedsic3n,theu.s. SupremeCourt

- disregarding the constitutionally-authorized
ban - ded ared that C ongress coul d n^ i nterf ere
with slavery or prohibit it in anyterritory thereby
"reopening theAfri can siavetradeithrough] per-
versions of judicial power."

tt Republicanswontheelectionof I860 and,
in accordance with this plank in their platform,
th^ begi n to take acti on to end si avery For s<-
ample in 1862, they passed afederal law prohib-
iting slavery in the federal territories - a direct
affront to the 1 85 7 D red Scott ded si on I n whi ch
theu.s. SupremeCourt had forbidden Congress
from ending slavery in anyterritory In 1863,
Lincoln issued the Emandpati on Proclamation

- another act di rectly nefuti ng theSupremeC ourt
dedsion. The Republican Congress had indad
begun pursuing measures for the "total and final
suppression of that s<ecrable traffic."

Democrats iiHD REPUBLickHs: Is Their Ckn W/ords

The Dm ocors'Pt /trfooM

The Repubuciihs'Platform

1864

The direct interference of the mili-
tary authorities of the U nited States in
the recent elections held in Kentucky,
Maryland, M issouri,and Delaware^was
a shameful violation of the Constitu-
tion; and a repetition of such acts i n the
approaching election will be held as
na«lutionary, and resisted with all the
means and power under our control .

1864

As slavery was the cause and now con-
stitutes the strength of [theC ivil War], *
and as [slavery] must be always and ev-
erywhere hostile to the principles of re-
publican government, justice and thena-
tional safety demand its utter and com-
plete [elimination] from the soil of the
Republic; and while we uphold and
maintain the acts and proclamations by
which the government i n its own defense
has aimed a deathblow at this gigantic
evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such
an amendment to the Constitution . . .
asshallterminateand forever prohibit the
existence of slavery within the limits of
the jurisdiction of the U nited States. *'

t At theoutbreak of the Civil War, theel even
pro- slavery states ttiat seceded from the Union
to form the slave-holding Confederate States
of A merica were almost completely D emocratic;
in fact, every southern D emocratic member of
the U. S. Congress gave up his seat and joined
the C onfederacy H owever, the states of K en-
tuckyM aryiand.M issouri.and Delaware(called
"border states" because they were the buffer
states caught between the Union States and the
C onfederateStates) did not secede, even though
they were pro- slavery and largely Democratic.
W hen the election of 1864 occurred, the pro-
slavery forces in those border states used vio-
lenceto keep anti-slavery Republicansfrom vot-
ing. Federal troopswerethereforesent in to pro-
tect the ballot boxes and ensure that all citizens
could vote. It wasthis protection of voting rights
through the use of federal troops that the Demo-
crats here den ounce

t M any today assert that the C ivil War was
not over slavery but historical records prove oth-
erwise.! hesecession documents of theSouth-
ern states that left the U nion, as well as the
official documents of the C onfederate States
of America, describe that Southern nation asa
confederation of "slave-holding" states. Accord-
ing to historical records, slavery wasthe pri-
mary distinction between the North and the
South, and Rebels were therefore fighting for
the existence of a slave- holding nation.

tt In l860,theRepublicans-forthefirsttirre
in history- had won the national el actions and in
1861 therefore took QDntrd of thePreadency H ou^
and Senate Th^ pronptly pasKd a number of
dvil rightslewv^indudinglowvsabdishing slavery
in all U.S.territoriesandinWa^ington,D.C.Th^
also passed lewvsthat began toopen courts of jus-
tice to allow African American participation.

E ven though they had already "aimed a death-
blow at thisgigantic evil, "they realized that progress
through such laws was too slow. They therefore
called for a constitutional amendment to give them
a singlemeans to finally and totally end theevil.T his
platform plank was thefirstoffidal call by a politi-
cal party for what became the 13'*' Amendmmt to
the Constitution abolishing slavey

On Ricin Justice & Civil Rights

The Dm ocors'Pt /trfouM

The Repubuciihs'Platform

1868

T heD emocratic party . . . demand[s]
. . . the abolition of tine Freedmen's
Bureau and all political instrumentali-
ties designed to secure Negro su-
premacy t . . . I nstead of restoring the
Union, it[theRepublicanPart>^ has-
so far as in its power - dissolved it, and
subjected ten states, in time of pro-
found peace, to military despotism and
N egro supremacy ' '

1868

T his C onvention declares its sympa-
thy with all the oppressed people which
are struggling for their rights.

t The "political instrumentalities" that the D emocrats believed were "designed to secure N egro
supremacy" included not only the Freedman's Bureau but also the various civil rights laws that had been
passed by Republicans By 1868, Republicans had not only abolished slavery but aJSD passed civil rights
laws repealing theFugitiveSlaveAct, removingcdorrestriction^ and opening juries, marriage voting,
employment, education and military service to African Americans D emocrats \«hemently opposed
each of those civil rights laws, and Democratic President Andra/vJ ohnson ejen vetoed sa/eral of the
bills, but Republicans had o\«rridden each of his vetoes So opposed were Democrats to equality for
African Americans that at the passage of the l3*Amendment to theConstitution abolishing slavery
only 19 ofthe82 Democrats (23%) WDted to end slavery whilelOO percent of Republicans- 118 of 118-
voted for the A mendment . D errocrats were so accustomed to the suppressi on of bl ack A meri cans that
simply to gi\e them equality- to make blacks and whites equal under the law- meant "N egro su-
premacy" to the D emocrats, whi ch they condemn I n thi s pi atform.

tt The years from 1865- 1868 were marked not bv profound peace- as Democrats here claim - but
rather by profound violence, with numerous deadly mob attacks against African Americans The ten
states that were "subjected to military despotism and N egro supremacy" were ten of the D emocratic
states that had seceded from the Union during the Civil War to form the slave- holding nation of the
Confederate States of America. The "despotism" to which those states were subjected included the
federal requirement that the southern states rewrite theirstateconstitutions, and have citizens in those
states ratify those new constitutions, to recognize the civil rights of African Americans

Since the newly enfranchised black voters outnumbered white voters in many Democratic southern
states, only if blacks were prevented from voting couold the civil rights provisions in the state constitu-
tions be defeated. Therefore, massive riots erupted in many southern Democratic states, with Demo-
crats attacking black voters on their way to the polls and causing the deaths of thousands Federal
troops were eventually sent in to quell the violence and allow voting to proceed. W ith federal protec-
tion of black voters, those constitutions eventually did pass, thus providing civil rights for African
Americans (Unfortunately however, within ten years, those states were released from Reconstruction
and federal troops were withdrawn. Democrats regained control of those states and revised their con-
stitutions to exdude civil rights for blacks)

Therefore, this platform statement is patently false: there was no profound peace, and the "military
despotism" about which D emocratsherecomplain was simply theuse of federal troopsto protect ballot
boxes and allow African Americans to vote.

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir O/i h Words

The Dem ocors'PurfORH
1872

We pledge ourselves to maintain the
union of these states, emancipation, and
enfranchisement, and to oppose any re-
opening of the questions settled by the
13*, 14'\ aid is"" Amendments of the
Constitution.' Wedemandtheimme-
diabeand absolute removal of all disabili-
tiesimposed on account of the rebellion
[Civil War]*' whichwasfinally subdued
saei years ago, belies ng that univesal
amnesty will result in complete pacifi-
cation i n al I secti ons of the country.

t This is a false and misleading promise, for
Democrats had relentlessly opposed those
Amendments - and the civil rights laws based
on them. N ot only had D emocrats stridently op-
posed the IS*" Amendment (sffinoteon p. 7 about
thisArrendment), but not a single Democrat in
Congress voted either for the 14" Arrendment
(declaring that former slaves were full citizens
and therd'ore enti tl ed to al I the ri ghts and pri vi -
leges of any other citizen in the state in which
they I i\«d) or the 15* Amendment (granting ex-
plicit XADting rights to black A rreri cans). I n fact,
inthedvil rights bill of 1871 to punish K I an vio-
lence not one Democrat in Congress voted for
that bi II .T hesamewastrue with other major dvi I
rights laws Therefore voting records prove this
pi atform ded arati on by D emocrats to be patently
falffi.

ttThe"disabilitie£f' about which Derrocrats
herecomplai n wererestrictionsthat C ongresshad
placed upon the most strident racist individuals
and states after the War. For example Congress
required that before the former Confederate
States could be readmitted, th^ must fi rst ratify
both then" aid 14" Amendments (aid the 14"
Amendment forbid former Rebelsfrom holding
office), and then create na/v state constitutions
that guaranteed equal civil rightsforblackAmeri-
cans These "disabilities^' - necessary to ensure
that progress was made in dvil rights - had a
di rect negati \« I mpact upon D emocrats a nee vi r-
tually aery Confederate was also a Democrat.

The REfilBUCHHS'PLATFORM

1872

D uring eleven years of [congressional]
supremacy it[ttieRepublican Party] has.
. . . suppressed a gigantic rebellion, eman-
cipated four millions of slaves, decreed
the equal citizenship of all, and estab-
lished universal suffrage[voting]. C om-
pleteliberty and exact equality in the en-
joyment of all civil, political, and public
rights should be established and effec-
tually maintained throughout theUnion
by efficient and appropriate state and
federal legislation. * Neither the law nor
its administration should admit any dis-
crimination in respectof citizens by rea-
son of African Americans, creed, color,
or previous condition of servitude.

t Republicanswere first elected asthemajor-
itypartyin 1861. 0\«rthenextela/en years, th^
passed almost two dozen dvil right laws - and
threeconstitutional arrendrrents- toraersthe
barriers of discrimination, segregation, and in-
stitutional radsm.

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights

The Dem ocRns'PinroiiM
1876

T he D emocratic Party of the U nited
States . . . reaffirnn[s] our faith in tine
permanence of tine federal union, our
devotion to tine Constitution of tine
United States, witin its amendments
universally accepted * as a final settle-
ment of the controversies that engen-
dered civi I war; and do here record our
steadfast confidence in the perpetuity
of Republican self-government, in ab-
solute acquiescence in the will of the
majority " the vital principle of re-
publics- . . .[and] in the equality of all

t T his statement is completeiy false Just as
the D emocrats had fought every civii rights bill
and amendment to theConstltuti on (see note on
p. 7 about oppcation totheAmendrrents), they
werestill doingsDatthetimethispiatformdec-
laration was written. For e»empl^ inthel875 civil
rights bill to prohibit segregation and radal dis-
crimination, not one D emocrat I n C ongness voted
for that bill. Significantly Republicans did pass
that bi 1 1 over thestri dent and vi rtuall y unani mous
opposition of Democrats, butfdlcwing its pas-
sage it would beanother69 years beforethe next
dvil ri^tslawwaspassed.Why?Becauffiinl876,
Derrocrats gained control oftheu.s. Hous^and
with adivided Congress, D emocrats successfully
blocked any further progress in the civil rights
arena until the mid 1960s

tt Democratssaidth^werewilling to abide
bythewill of the majority but th^ used sueral
rreansto kesp blacksfrom being part of that ma-
jority After regaining control of the south in 1376,
D emocrati c state I egi si atures enacted pol I ta)es,
literacy tests, "grandfather" clauses, multiple bal-
lots, hideand-sffik polling places. Black Codes
(J imCrcw laws), forced segregation, whiteonly
pri marl es, property cwnershi p requi rerrents, and
annual voter registration fas to pra/ent blacks
from having any\«iceand to exdudethemfrom
bei ng part of any maj ority T herefor^ the d ause
in thisplatform affirming the "will ofthemajor-
itv" actually means onlvthe white maioritv.

The REfilBUCUIS'PLATFORM

1876

W hen, in the economy of Provi-
dence, this land was to be purged of
human slavery and when the strength
of government of the people by the
people and for the people was to be
demonstrated, the Republican Party
came into power. . . .The Republican
Party has preserved ... the great truth
spoken at its cradle, that "all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable
rightsamong which arelife, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness, that for the
attainment of these ends, governments
have been instituted among men, de-
riving their just powers from the con-
sent of thegoverned."U ntil these truths
are cheerfully obeyed - and if need be
vigorously enforced - the work of the
Republican party isunfinished. The per-
manent pacification of the Southern
section of the U nion, and the complete
protection of all its citizens in the free
enjoyment of all their rights, are duties
to which the Republican Party is sa-
credly pledged.

10

Democrats iiHD Repubiicms;/« Their Ckn 1/I/ords

The Dm ocors'Pt/trfooM

The Repubuciiiis'Platform

citizens before just laws of tineir own
enactment, . . . [as well as] in thefaith-
f ul education of the risi ng generation '

1880

The existing administration is the
representativeof conspiracyonly,^ ' and

t Democratic support for the 'faithful edu-
cation of the rising generation" did not include
education for African Americana I n fact, 87 per-
cent of the D emocrats i n C ongress voted agai nst
the 1872 education bill to help African Ameri-
cans Segregated, i nf eri or, and di I api dated school s
for blacl<sbecarrBthenorm i n thesouthem states
under D emocratic control .

T he D emocrats were outspoken i n thei r at-
tempts to seyegateAfri can A rrericansfrom pub-
licschoolsFors<ampl^ in 1872 D emocratic U. S.
Representati\«J ames H arper of N orth Carolina
widely distributed a piece called: "Separate
SchodsforWhitesandColored with Equal Ad-
vantages; M ixed Schools Nejer!" And in 1875,
the Democratic E>03Jti\«Committffiof Ohio
issued a piece on public education to "expose!'
what th^ cal I ed the di rty "tri cl<s^' of the R epub-
licans, complaining: 'T he OnlyPoati\« Action
of the R epubl i can Party on the School Q uesti on
in Ohio, is to Destroy the System by Requiring
that Whites and B I acl<s be Educated Together."

The Democratic opposition to open educa-
tion for blacl< yauth sometimes went beysnd
words to acts of vi d ence - as when D emocrats
burned eight schoolsin M emphisin which black
youth were being taught. Additionally, since
churches in the South frequently prcMded edu-
cation foryDuth, such churches were also regu-
larlyburned .Therefore- contraryto the Demo-
crats; claim in this platform - the a/idences of
the widespread Democratic opposition to equal
education for black yDuth in those ^ears are nu-
merous and abundant, thei r support for "the
furhtered education of the rising generations^'
rreant onlyfor white students

t tThe Democrats are here complaining
about the manner in which Republican Ruth-
erford B. H ayes(thePresident at that time) had

1880

1 1 [theRepublican Party] suppressed a
rebellion which had armed nearlya mil-
lion men to subvert the national author-
ity. It reconstructed the Union of the
States, with freedom i nstead of slavery as
its comerstone. + 1 1 transformed 4,ooo,ooo
human bei ngsf rom the I i keness of thi ngs
to the rank of citizens. It relie«d Con-
gressf rom the i nfamous work of hunti ng
fugitiveslaves,'' and charged ittoseethat
slavery does not edst.

t This reference to a nation with "slavery as
itscornerstone"referstoafamousspeech by the
same title given by Democrat Rep. Alexander
Stephens of G eorgia, who left C ongress to be-
come the Vice President of the Confederacy I n
hisspeech ("African Slavery:TheCorner-Stone
of the Southern Confederacy"), Stephens first
correctly acknowledged that the Founding Fa-
thers had never intended for slavery to remain
in America because their ideas "rested upon the
assumption of the equality of races." But
Stephens then declared: "This was an error. . . .
Our new government [the Confederate States
of America] is founded upon exactly the oppo-
site idea; its foundations are laid - its comer-
stone rests - upon the great truth that the N egro
isnpt equal to thewhite man. That slavery- sub-
ordination to the superior race- is[thei natural
and moral condition (of theNegroJ.This- our
new government - is the first in the history of
theworld based upon thisgreat physical, philo-
sophical, and moral truth." Thus, by defeating
the Confederacy Republicans had defeated the
nation with "slavery as its cornerstone."

tt SeethenotesabouttheFugitiveSlaveLaw
and its repeal on pp. 4-5.

On Ricin Justice & Civil Rights 11

The Deh ocors'Pt/(rfo«M The Repubuciiiis'Platform

its claim of right to surround tiie bal-
lot- boxes with troops and deputy mar-
shals, to intimidate and obstruct the
election, and the unprecedented use of
the veto to maintain its corrupt and des-
potic powers, insult the people and im-
peril their institutions.

won the presidency, claiming that theoutcomeof the 1876 election was the result of a "conspiracy"

T he 1876 elation had b^n betw^n Republican Rutherford B. H ayesand Democrat Samuel Tilden,
and 185 elatoral wtes were naded for either to win the presidency. When the votes were counted,
DemocratTildenhadrecei\«dl84 eleloral votesand Republican Hayeshad received 165. Neither had
rezayed the necessary votes, but there was a total of 20 disputed electoral votes that had not been
counted. If Republican Hayes received all 20 of those votes, he would became President; if Democrat
Tilden received even one of those votes, hewould became President.

The uncounted votes came primarily from the disputed southern states of Florida, Louisiana, and
South Carolina. In those three states, dual election resultshad been reported - onetally in each state
showed Republicans had won, the other tally showed Democratshadwon.ln each of those three states.
Democrats had been extremely active both In suppressing the black votethrough violence and in alter-
ing the counts at the ballot box. D emocrats therefore claimed that they had won those three states.
H owever. Republicans counted the suppressed African American votes and Ignored the fraudulent
votes.They therefore claimed that theyhad won those three states.

SIncethe Electoral Col lege did not count the disputed votes, and since neither presidential can-
didate could win without them. Congress was required to determine who would become President.
A commission of 15 members was convened to hear the issue The commissi on investigated and
detemni ned that there had b^ vets' suppress! on through the ki 1 1 i ng, i nj uri ng, and i nti mi dati on of
bl ack A rrai cans by D ernDcrats. T he cornrni ssi on therefore a/varded the d ecti on to R qDubl i can R u-
therf ord B . H a^es. T he D arocrati c H ou^ hcwa/a-, refused to rati fy the f i ndi ngs of the commi s-
si on and threatened a fi I i buster T he result was that A meri ca rerrei ned without a Presi dent.

This situation continued for four months until a solution, known as'TheGreat Compromise," was
proposed. Democrats offered to ratify the commission's report- but only If the last federal troops were
withdrawn from F lorlda, Louisiana, and South Carolina, thereby officially ending Reconstruction in
the South. If Republicans did not agree to the Democratic proposal, America would have no Presi-
dent. The proposal was finally agreed to, and federal troops departed from the three remaining states
In which they had been stationed. (Following the withdrawal of those last federal troops, from that
point forward the South became known as the "solid Democratic South.") Asa result of this agree-
ment. Rep. Rutherford B. H ayes became President, and because of these circumstances. Democrats
complain that "the existing administration Istherepresentatlveof conspiracy only"

12

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir O/i h Words

The Dem ocors'PtArfonH
1884

Asserting the equality of all men be-
fore the law, we hold that it is the duty
of the governnnent in its dealings with
the people to mete out equal and exact
justice to all citizens of whatever nativ-
ity, race, color, or persuasion (religious
or political). We believe in a free ballot *
and a fair count, and we recall to the
memory of the peoplethenoblestruggle
of the D emocrats i n the Forty- fifth and
Forty-sixth Congresses by which a re-
luctant Republican opposition was com-
pel led to assent to legislation maki ng a^
erywhere illegal the presence of the
troops at the pol Is, " as the conci usi ve
proof that a D emocrati c ad mi ni strati on
wi 1 1 preserve I i berty with order.

The REfilBUCHHS'PLATFORM

1884

The Republican Party, having its
birth in a hatred of slave labor and a
desire that all men maybetrulyfreeand
equal,* is unalterably opposed to plac-
ing our workingmen in competition
with anyform of servi le labor. "... We
extend totheRepublicansof theSouth
- regardless of their former party af-
filiations - our cordial sympathy; and
we pledgeto them our most earnest ef-
forts to promote the passage of such
legislation as will secure to e^ery citi-
zen of whatever race and color thef ul I
and complete recognition, possession,
and exercise of all civil and political
rights

t Significantly, contrary to this claim, it was
on/y D emocrati c state legislatures that instituted
poll taxes to limit African American influence,
thus conclusively refuting their claim of a belief
in a "free" ballot.

tt Seenoteon pp. 10-11 e»<plaininghowRe-
CDnstructi on came to an end when federal troops
were remo\«d from the pol I s

t Seenoteon thebirth of theRepublican Party
on p. 3.

tt W hi le there were rreny forms of "arvi le
labor," two of the most repugnant i ncl uded that
instituted under the "Black Codes" and that of
forced apprenticeships, both of which became
widespreed in theSouth in theyearsfdlcwing
theCivil War.The"Black Codes" created crimi-
nal offenses for minor charges such as vagrancy
(often imposed againstablack when hewaslook-
ing for a job), insubordination, disrespect, and
other such \«'bal "offenas" that resulted in jail
time The "convicted" individual was antenced
to plantation labor that often wastheequi\^ent
cf^ajay. Forced apprenticediipswere3milar, but
wereimposedon black mi norsratherthan adults
Black youth were ford biy taken from parents and
forced into "apprenticediips" that were nothing
morethan a meansof cheap I abor for f orrrer si ave
owners

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights 13

The Dem ocRns'PinTfouM The REfUBUcuis'PLATFORM

1888 1888

No mention of racial equality or civil We reaffirm our unswerving devotion

rights. to the national C onstitution and the in-

dissoluble U nion of the States, to the
autonomy reserved to the States under
the C onstitution, to the personal rights
and liberties of the citizens in all the
states and territories of the U nion, and
especially to the supreme and sovereign
right of every lawful citizen, rich or poor,
native or foreign born, white or black,
to cast one free ballot * in public elec-
tions and to have that ballot duly
counted. We hold the free and honest
popular ballot, and the just and equal
representation of all the people, to bethe
foundation of our republican govern-
ment and demand effective legislation
tosecunetheintBgrityand purity of elec-
tions, " which are the fountains of all
public authority. We charge that the
present administration and the Demo-
cratic majority in Congress owetheirex-
istenceto the suppression of the ballot.

t See notes on poll taxes on pp. 9 and 11.

tt African American Rep. John Roy Lynch
personally experienced vote- counting difficulties
from thoseD emocratswhom hedescribed as "the
ballot box stuffer [and] theshot-gunhdda'cfthe
South."Ashes(plainedtoapublicgathaing: "I n
rry stat^ the 'cfficial return' is an cfficial fraud.
When I ran for Congress in the Sixth District cf
Mississippi in 1880, I knew that there were not
lessthans.ooo vctes[cast] fbrmethatwaBcounted
forthelDenocrat] that ran against me New, bear
in mind, the official report ga\ye him 5,000 of my
votes ... New, I say that is wrong." NumaTous
other African American legislators ©(perimced
s milar difficulties, and the records of multi plecon-
gressi onal heari ngs duri ng that ti me confi rm the
massive vote- fraud committed by Democrats
agai nst A f ri can A meri can candi dates

14

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir O/i h Words

The Dem ocors'PurfORH
1892

W e warn the people of our common
country, jealous for the preservation of
their free institutions, that the policy of
federal control of electionsto which the
Republican party has committed itself

is fraught with the gravest dangers

It strikes at the N orth as well as at the
South and injures the colored citizen
even more than the white; * it means a
hordeof deputy marshals at e/ery pol I-
ing placQ armed with federal power.

The REfilBUCIiliS'PLATFORM

1892

We demand that every citizen of the
United States shall beallowedtocastone
free and unrestricted ballot in all public
elections, * and that such ballot shall be
counted and returned as cast; that such
laws shall beenacted and enforced as will
secure to e«ry citizen, be he rich or poor,
nativeorforeign- born, whiteor black, this
sovereign right guaranteed by the Con-
stitution. . . . Wedenouncethecontinued
inhuman outrages perpetrated upon
A mericancitizensfor political reasonsin
certai n southern states of the U ni on . "

t T his was a completely erroneous assertion.
The Democrats had engaged in extensive efforts
to suppress black voting, and those efforts had
been successful. For example, in M ississippi in
1892, there were70, 000 more blacks than whites
in the state but white voters outnumberad blacl<
WDters by a rrergin of 8 to 1. And in Birming-
ham, ejen though some 18,000 blades lived in
the city at the tum of the century only 30 were
eligible to \cte. I n Alabama and Florida, the
number of black voters WK reduced bynearly90
percent, and bythel940Si onlys percent of blacks
i n the D emocrati c South were regi stered to vote.
In fact, in 1965 inSdrrB,AlabarrB- acitywith
more black residents than white residents- the
voting rollswere99 percent whiteand only 1 per-
cent black. Clearly Democratic \cter suppres-
3 on efforts had bsn successful , hcwa/er Repub-
I i cans had sought to ha\« federal protect! ons at
the pol I i ng pi aces to protect A f ri can A meri cans
from corrupt I oca! officials, and it istothisprac-
ti ce of protect! ng bl ack \cters wi th federal rrer-
shalsthat Democrats here object.

t See the notes on poll taxesonpp. 9, llandl3.

ttThe"inhuman outrages" perpetuated upon
A f ri can A meri can s i n th e S outh were I argel y com-
mitted through theDemocrats'Ku K lux K Ian.

It is indisputable historical fact that the K Ian
was started by Democrats. In fact, during con-
gressional hearings on thesubject, oneprominent
Democrat testified that the Ku Klux Klan "be-
longs to . . . our party - the D emocratic Party"
A nd thefi rst Grand Wizard of theKu Klux Klan
was prominent Democrat Nathan Bedford
Forrest, an honoree at the 1868 Democratic Na-
tional Con\«nti on. Recall alsothateueryDemo-
cratinCongressv3tedagainstthel87l bill to pun-
ish Klan violence(s»noteon p. 8 about thisbill).

W hy were blacl<s so often the target of K Ian
violence? According to African American U. S.
Rep. J ohn Roy Lynch: "M orecdored than white
men arethusperacuted a mply becauseth^con-
stitute in larger numbers the opposition to the
Democratic Party "African A rreri can U.S. Rep.
R i chard C ai n of South C ard i na, a bi shop of the
AM E denomination, agrffid, declaring: 'The bad
blood of the South comes becaus the N egroes
are Republicans If th^ would only cease to be
Republicans and vote the straight-out Demo-
crat! c ti cket there woul d be no troubl e T hen the
bad blood would sink entirely out of sight." It
was Vnese D emocrati c and K I an "i nhuman out-
rages^' to which Republicans here object.

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights

15

The Dem ocors'Pt/dfORH

1896

The Constitution of the United
States guarantees to every citizen the
rights of civil and religious liberty. The
Democratic Party has always been the
exponent of political liberty and religious
freedom, * and it renews its obligations
and reeffi rnns its de/Jtion to thesef un-
damental principlesoftheConstitution.

1900

No mention of racial equality or civil
rights.

tT his statement is completely erroneous. N ot
only had Democratsstridentiyopposeda/Zof the
two dozen civil rights laws passed to that point.
1 n fact, in 1893 when Dermcratswon thePresi-
dency the H ou^ andtheSenat^ they i mmedi -
ately passed laws repealing the dvil rights laws
that had not yet b^ struck dcwn by theSuprare
Court, and spedfically repealed all dvil ri^tslavs
protecting blacl< wting ri ghts or punishing K Ian
videnceTh^acnDmplishedall of thiswithin only
two years after taki ng control of C ongress

Just as Democrats had opposed political lib-
erty for A fri can A meri cans th^ al so opposed re-
ligiousliberty For sample in 1865, when then'*'
A rrendrrent was passed to abol i sh si awery promi -
nentAfrican Arreri can mini sta-H enryH inland
Garnet was asked to preach a sermon in Con-
g-ess to commemorate that happy e/ent. W ith
Republican support (noDemocratsjoined in in-
viting him to preach his sermon). Garnet did
preadi that sermon i n C ong-ess on Sunday Feb-
ruaryl2, 1865, beaming thefirst African Arreri-
can to speak i n the hal I s of C ongress.

TheresDrdsareindisputableand unequivocal
that Democrats oppoffid both the political and
rel i gi ous freedoms of A fri can A rreri cans

The REfilBUCUIS'PLATFORM

1896

We proclaim our unqualified con-
demnation of the uncivilized and pre-
posterous practice well known as lynch-
ing, t and the killing of human beings
suspected or charged with cri me with-
out process of law.

1900

It was the plain purpose of the Fif-
teenth A mendment to the C onstitution
to prevent discrimination on account of
race or color in regulating the elective
franchise. ** Daflces of state govern-

t Of all formsof violent intimidation, lynch-
ings were by far the most effective. Between 1882
and 1964, 4,743 individuals were lynched - 3,446
blacks and 1,297 whites Republicans led the ef-
forts to passfederal anti-lynching laws and their
pi atforms consi stenti y cal I ed for a ban on I ynch-
ing, but Democrats successfully blocked a/ery
anti-lynching bill and the Democratic pi atforrrs
na/er did condemn lynchings

tt Democrats had strenuously and unani-
mously opposed thel5'*'Ammdment that pnavided
voting rights for African A ma-i cans (see note on
p. 8 regarding thisAmendmait). By 1900, Demo-
crats began actively seeking a repeal of the 15"
Amendment (as wdl as the 14" A mendment). As
Democratic U.S. SanatorBenTillmanfnomSouth
Carolina explained: "Wemadeup our minds that
thel4* and 15" AmendmaitstotheConstitution
were themselves null and void." According to
promi nent D anocrat leada- A . W .Tard I ofTs®^
thel5* Amaidmaitwaswhat hecalled 'thepo-
litical blundaofthecaitury"DanocraticU.5. Rep.
BourkeCockran of N a/vYork and Danocriic U .
S. Senator] ohn Tyler M organ of Alabama agreed
wi th Tare! I and were among the D emocrats sek-
ing arqjeal of thel5* Amaidmait. I n fact. Demo-
cratic U.S. Senator Samud McEnery of Louisiana
a«i declared: "I bdia«...thatnotasinglesouth-

16

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir Ck h Words

The Dem ocors'Pi ArfonH

1904

The race question has brought
oountlesswoestothisoDuntryThecalm
wisdom of the American peopleshould
see to it that it brings no more. To re-
vive thedead and hateful race and sec-
tional animosities in any part of our
common country means conf usi on, di s-
tracti on of busi ness, and the reopeni ng
of wounds now happily healed. *

t Contrary to this clairn the "woundsf' were
not "happily healed. "Lynchings were still occur-
ring frequently and theKu K lux K Ian was enter-
ing Its second national revival of membership and
activity with several Klan members at that time
even being elected D emocrats.

The REfllSUCHHS'PLATFORM

merits, whether by statutory or consti-
tutional enactment, to avoid the pur-
pose of this amendment are revolution-
ary and should be condemned. *

1904

We favor such congressional action
as shall determine whether by special
discrimination the elective franchise in
any state has been unconstitutionally
limited, and if such is the case, we de-
mand that representation in Congress
and in theelectoral college shall be pro-
portionately reduced as directed by the
C onstitution of the U nited States. **

ern Senator would object to such a move" (The
southern Senatorswerealmost exclusively Demo-
crats) Fortunately D emocrats were unsuccessful
in their efforts to repeal the 14* aid 15" Annend-
nnents.

t For the dozen separate devices used by
Democratic state governments to circumvent the
15'*' Amendment, sffithenoteon p. 9.

ttThel4" Arrendrrent, in estabjidiing rights
of citizenship and dvil rightsfor African Arreri-
cans, also included a provision declaring that
states whi ch abri dged these freedoms woul d suf-
fer a red ucti on i n thei r representati on at the E I ec-
toral College therebyweakeningtheirabilityto
influence a presidential election.

Because of the Black Codes and disenfran-
chisement tacticsused by D emocratic statesin the
South, the rights of dtizenship of black Ameri-
cans were seriously curtailed, including their right
to vote For example, in addition to the suppres-
sive voting numbers given onp. U.inlSSOinMls-
sisappi.aenthoughtherewereTO.OOO rmreblack
VDtersthan whitewter^ eiigblewhltewta^out-
numbered ell gi bl e bl ack voters by a margi n of al -
most ten to onq I n A I abama, the number of bl ack
voters was reducsd from 181,000 in 1901 to only
3,000 in 1902; and in Texas, the number of black
voters was reduced from almost 100,000 in the
1890s to only 5,000 by 1906. The above dause in
the platform is calling for those states to bepe
nalized under the 14* A mendment, with a I OSS I n
their representati on at the Electoral College

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights 17

The Dem ocRns'PiiijfoiiM The REfUBUcuis'PLATFORM

1908 1908

No mention of racial equal ityor civil T he Republican party has been for

rights. more than fifty years the consistent

friend of the American Negro. It gave
him freedom and citizenship. We de-
mand equal justice for all men with-
out regard to race or color; we declare
once more and without reservation for
the enforcement in letter and spirit of
the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fif-
teenth A mendments to the C onstitu-
tion, which were designed for the pro-
tection and advancement of the N e-
gro, and we condemn all devices that
havefor their real aim his disfranchise-
ment for reasons of color alone as un-
fair, un-American, and repugnant to
the supreme law of the land. *

1912 1912

N mention of racial equality or civil N o mention or racial equality or civil

rights. rights.

1916 1916

No mention of racial equality or civil No mention or racial equality or civil

rights. rights.

1920 1920

N mention of racial equality or civil W e urge C ongress to consider the

rights. most effective means to end lynching

in this country, +* which continues to
be a terrible blot on our American
civilization.

t Seenoteon pp. 9 detailing thevariousways
tliat Democrats l<ept African Americans from
voting.

tt Seenoteon p. 15 about lyncliings

18

DEMOCRATSkHD Rl PU B L IC AH SI Ih Th E IR Oh H l/l/o fi D S

The Dem ocors'Pt/frfooM

The Repusuchhs'Platforh

1924

N mention of racial equality or civil
rights.

1928

No mention of racial equality or civil
rights.

1932

N mention of racial equality or civil
rights.

1924

W e urge the C ongress to enact at the
earliest possible date a federal anti-
lynchinglawsothatthefull influence of
the federal government may be wielded
to exterminate this hideous crime.*

1928

We renew our recommendation
that the C ongress enact at the earliest
possible date a federal anti-lynching
law so that the full influence of the
federal government may be wielded to
exterminate this hideous crime. *

1932

For seventy years the Republican
Party has been thefriend of theA meri-
can Negro. Vindication of the rights of
the N egro citizen to enjoy thefull ben-
efits of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness is traditional in the Repub-
lican Party, and our Party stands

t See note on p. 20. Onecfthermny Repub-
lican attempts to ban lynchingshad occurred in
1921 wlien Republican U.S. Rep. LeonidasDyer
of M issouri introduced a federal anti-lynching
bi 1 1 , but D emocrats fought i ts passage T hat de
lay was costly T he N A A C P sadly reported that
"sincetheintroductionoftheDyB-Anti-Lynch-
ingBill in Congress on April ll,l92l,thereha\fi
bffin 28 persons murdered by lynchings in the
United States" The Dyer bill wds eventually
killed by Democrats In fact, Democrats killed
a/a^ single anti-lynching bill introduced in
Congress - ejen those occasionally introduced
by an individual Democrat. As a result of the
steadfast Democrat obstruction on this issu^
C ongress ne^er p^sed an anti - lynchi ng bi 1 1 . {See
also note on p. 15 about lynching la/vs)

On RAcm JusTKi & Civil Rights

19

The Dem ocRns'Piijfonu

The Repubuchiis'Platform

1936

N mention of racial equality or civil
rights.

pledged to maintain equal opportunity
and rights for Negro citizens. ^

1936

W e favor equal opportunity for our
colored citizens. We pledge our pro-
tection of their economic status and
personal safety W e will do our best to
further their employment in the gain-
fully occupied lifeof America, particu-
larly in private industry agriculture,
emergency agencies, and theC ivil Ser-
vice. We condemn the present New
Deal policies which would regiment
and ultimately eliminate the colored
citizen from the country's productive
life and make him solely a ward of the
federal government.

t African Americans had historically been
loyal to the Republican Party In fact, in the 1932
presidential elation during which this platform
was written, incumbent Republican President
H erbert H cojer recayed rrorethan thrs- fourths
of the bl acl< vote ewer hi s D emocrati c chal I enger
Franl<lin D. Roosa/elt. Why had Republicans
received so much African A rreri can support? I n
1875, AfricanArrerican Republican U.S. Rep.Jo-
seph H ayne Rainey had explained: "We intend
to continue to vote so long as the go\«mment
gives us the right and necessary proteli on; and I
knew that ri ght accorded to us now wi 1 1 nejer be
withheld in the future if left to the Republican
Party" Consequently blacl< Americans - long
beingthevictimsofD emocrati c- sponsored rac-
ismand segregation - continued their loyalty to
Republ i cans wel I i nto the 20'*' century

20

DEMOCRATSkHD Rl PU B L IC AH SI Ih Th E IR Oh H l/l/o fi D S

The Dem ocors'Pt/fTfOfiM

The Repubuchhs'Platforh

1940

ur N egro citizens iiave participated
actively in the economic and social ad-
vanceslaunchedbythisAdministration,
including fair labor standards, social se-
curity benefits, health protection, work
relief projects, decent housing, aid to
education, and the rehabilitation of
low- income farm families. + We have
aided more than half a million Negro
youths in vocational training, education,
and employment. We shall continue to
strivef or compi ete I egi si ative safeguards
against discrimination in government
service and benefits and in the national
defensefonces. Wepledgeto uphold due
process and the equal proteii on of the
lawsfora«ry citizen, negardlessof rac^
creed or color. "

t The President at this time was Democrat
Franl<lin Delano Roosevelt. In an unusual move
for Democrats, Roosevelt in 1932 had invited
bl ack A meri cans to vote D emocrati c i n the el ac-
tions H cwaer, Roosaelt understood his Party
and madeonlysubtleoverturesto blackAmeri-
canswhileavoiding any overt civil rights prom-
ises. While Roosevelt created what became
kncwn as his "Black Cabinet" to advise him on
I ssues of I mportance to bl ack A meri cans, and al -
though he di d begi n to I ncl ude bl ack A rreri cans
ineconomicprograrr^hedidlittlefordvil rights
and in fact did not a/en introduce a single bill to
proted: or promote civi I rights

tt 1 1 WK under Roosevelt that D emocrats for
the first tirre placed language in their platform
callingforanendtoradal di scrim! nation; yet de
spitethena/vlanguageintheirplatform, Demo-
cratsin Congress still killed a/ery civi I rightsbill
i ntroduced i n that era.

1940

W e pledge that our A merican citi-
zens of N egro descent shall be given a
square deal in the economic and po-
litical life of this nation. D iscrimina-
tion in the civi I service, the army navy,
and all other branches of the govern-
ment must cease.Toenjoythefull ben-
efits of life, liberty and pursuit of hap-
piness, universal suffrage must be made
effective for the N egro citizen. M ob
violence shocks the conscience of the
nation and legislation to curb this evil
should be enacted.

On RAcm JusTKi & Civil Rights

21

The Dem ocors'Pi/trfOBH

The REPilSUCHIiS'PLATFORM

1944

Webelieve that racial and religious
minorities have the right to live, de-
velop, and vote equally with all citi-
zens, and share the rights that are
guaranteed byourConstitution. Con-
gress should exert itsfull constitutional
powers to protect these rights.

1948

T he D emocratic Party commits it-
self to continuing its efforts to eradi-
cate all racial, religious, and economic
discrimination. * We again state our

tW hileFranklin D. Roosevelt began a change
in the way national D emocrats treated African
Americans, itwashissuccessor,H arryS. Truman,
who was even more courageous H e became the
first D emocratic President to advocate for strong
civil rights protections.Truman introduced an ag-
gressive lO-point civil rights legislative package
that included an anti-lynching lewv, a ban on the
pd I tax, and deKg-egati on of the mil i tary but con-
g-esgonal Democratskilledhisproposals, includ-
ing his proposed Civil RightsCommission.

Truman- likeFDR brforehim- learned that it
WKdifficultforrank-and-fileDerrDcrats to reshape
their long-held via/vs on race. The depth of this
opposition was easily aai in significant danents
of the D arocratic Party For example^ whai M a
Ferguson (T®<as' Democratic gubernatorial candi-
date) dared to criticizetheKlan'sroleinthesouth-
an Democratic Party shewasdirectlyopposed in
her D anocrsti c pri rrery with a Klan candi di^ thus
costing her the cohesive support of the Texas
Danocratic Party I n fact, a number of Klansmai
ran on the various Demxratic tickets in that era

1944

We pledge an immediate congres-
sional inquiry to ascertain the extent to
which mistreatment, segregation, and
discrimination against Negroes who are
in our armed forces are impairing mo-
rale and efficiency and the adoption of
corrective legislation. The payment of
any poll tax should not be a condition
of voting in federal elections and wefa-
vor immediate submission of a consti-
tutional amendment for its abolition. *
We favor legislation against lynching
and pledge our si ncere dTorts i n behalf
of its early enactment.

1948

Lynching or any other form of mob
violence anywhere is a disgrace to any
civilized state, and wefavor the prompt
enactment of legislation to end this in-
famy tt O ne of the base pri nci pies of

t It was not until 1964 that the poll tax was
finally abolished through the passage of the 24*
Amendment to theConstitution. A repeal of the
poll tax had ban proposed on at leret fourteai
occasions pri or to its final appro\^,andonfi\«of
those occasions the H ouse had actually pasffid a
ban; but each ti me Senate D anocris kept the pol I
taxali\«. It was nearly 6ighty-fi\« years after the
poll tax to limit African Amaican influence was
instituted by Democrats before the ban on the poll
tax was finally approved bytheu. S. Senate Sig-
nificantly 91 percait of theRqjublicansin Con-
gress wted to end the pol I tax - a I a/d of support
much higher than that of Democrats! and of the
16 Senators who wanted to kffip the pol I tax alive
in 1964, 15 of them were Democrats The 24"
Amendment banned poll taxes, but onlyfor fed-
eral elections Two years lata', howeier, in 1966,
theu. S. SuprareCourt finally struck dcwn poll
ta>esfor all dectionsi including state and local. (See
also the notes about poll taxeson pp. 9, 11, and 13.)

tt See notes on pp. 15 and 18 regarding Re-
publi cans attempts to ban lynching.

22

DEMOCRATS^HD Rl PU B L IC kH SI Ih Th E IR Oh H l/l/o fi D S

The Dem ocors'Pt/fTfOfiM

The REfilSUCiHS'PLATFORH

belief that racial and religious minori-
ties must have the right to live, the right
to work, the right to vote, the full and
equal protection of the laws, on a basis
of equality with all citizens as guaran-
teed by the C onstitution. *

and were elected; and at the national level, several
D emocratic U. S. Senators were members of the
Klan. Despitetheeixistenceaf theKlan and other
raci St groups with! n the D emooBti c Party T ruman
naerthdess worked to change his party I n 1946,
he became thefirst modem President to institutea
comprehensive ra/ia/v of rxe relations - and not
surprisingly he faced strenuous opposition from
within hiscwn party I n fact, Danocraticu , 5. Sena-
torTheadoreBilboof M ississippi called on aery
"red blooded Anglo Sa)«Dn man in M ississippi to
resort to any means" to keep bl acks from voti ng.

The website for the Democratic National
Party properly acknowledgesTruman's important
contributions, declaring that, "W ith the election
of H arryTruman, D emocrats began the fight to
bring down thebarri ers of race and genden "Truly
it was under H arryTruman that D emocrats be-
can - that is, they made their first serious efforts
- to fight against the barriers of race.

t Southern Democratic Governors, fearing
thatTruman might succeed in hiscivil rights goals,
denounced hiscivil rights agenda and proposed a
meeting in F lorida of what they called a "south-
ern conference of true D emocrats" to plan their
strategy to halt civil rights progress. That sum-
mer at the Democratic National Convention
when Truman placed into the national D emo-
cratic platform the strong civil-rights language
that appears above, it resulted in a walkout of
southern delegates. Southern D emocrats then
formed theD ixiecrat Party and ran South Caro-
lina Democratic Governor Strom Thurmond as
theircandidateforPresident.Thurmond'sbid was
unsuccessful. (Strom Thurmond later had a dra-
matic changeof heart on civil rights issues and in
1954, helefttheDarocraticPaty Inl97l,asa
Republican U.S. Senator, Thurmond became the
fir^ southern Senator to hirea black in hissena-
torial office- something no southem Democrat
intheu. S. Senate had a/er done)

thisRepublic is the equality of all indi-
viduals in their right to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. This right of
equal opportunity to work and to ad-
vance in life should never be limited in
any individual becauseof race, religion,
color, or country of origin. W efavor the
enactment and just enforcement of such
federal legislation as may be necessary
tomaintain this right at all times in ev-
ery part of this R epublic. W e favor the
abolition of the poll tax as a requisite to
voti ng. t We are opposed to the idea of
racial segregation in the armed services
of the United States.

t Seenoteson previous page about poll taxes.

On RAcm JusTKi & Civil Rights

23

The Dem ocors'Pt/trfOBH

The Repubuchhs'Platform

1952

T he D emocratic Party iscommitted
to support and advance the individual
rightsand liberties of all Americans. We
will continue our efforts to eradicate
discrimination based on race, religion,
or national origin.

1956

Wewill continueour efforts to eradi-
cate discrimination based on race, reli-
gion, or national origin. We know this
task requires action not just in one sec-
tion of the nation but in all sections. It
requires the cooperative efforts of indi-
vidual citizens and action by state and
local governments. ... We are proud of
the record of the Democratic Party in
securing equality of treatment and op-
portunity in the nation's armed forces,
theC ivil Service, and in all areas under
federal jurisdiction. The Democratic
Party pledges itself to continue its effort
to eliminateillegal discriminations of all

1952

We condemn bigots who inject class,
racial, and religious prejudice into pub-
lic and political matters. Bigotry is un-
A merican and a danger to the Republic.
The Republican Party will not mislead,
exploit, or attempt to confuse minority
groupsfor political purposes. A II A meri-
can citizens are entitled to full, impar-
tial enforcement of federal laws relating
to their civil rights. ... We will prove
our good faith by appointing qualified
persons, without distinction of race, re-
ligion, or national origin, to responsible
positions in the government; + federal ac-
ti on toward the el i mi nati on of lynchi ng;
federal action toward the elimination of
poll ta>es as a prerequisite to voting; ap-
propriateaction to end segregation intfie
District ofColumbia;[and] enactingfed-
eral legislation to further just and equi-
table treatment i n the area of discri mi-
natory employment practices.

1956

We shall ever build anew, that our
children and their children, without
distinction because of race, creed, or
color, may know the blessings of our
free land.T he R epublican Party points
to an impressive record of accomplish-

t Republican W orld W ar 1 1 hero D wight D .
Eisenhower became President in this election.
Eisenhower determined to eliminate racial dis-
crimination in all areas under his authority. H e
therefore issued executive orders halting segre-
gation in theD istrictof Columbia, the military,
and federal agencies Furthermore, he was the
first president to appoint a black American -
Frederic M orrow - to an executive position on
the White House staff.

24

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir O/i h Words

The Dem ocRns'PiitTfouM

kinds, in relation to (1) full rightstDvot^
(2)full rights to engage in gainful occu-
pations, (3) full rights to enjoy security
of the person, and (4) full rights to edu-
cation in all publicly supported institu-
tions. Recent decisions of the Supreme
Court of the United States relating to
segregation in publicly supported
schools t and elsewhere have brought
consequences of vast i mportanceto our
nation asawholeand especial ly to com-
munities directly affected. We r^ect all
proposals for the use of force to inter-
fere with the orderly determination of
these matters by the courts.

t in 1954, the Supreme Court in Brown v.
Board of Education finaliy struci<down state seg-
regation lawsin education, thusreinstating what
Republicans had done neariy seventy- five years
earlier in thel875 civil rights bill. The southern
D emocrati c response to the C ourt ded si on end-
ing segregated educdiion was two- fold: a response
of word^ and a response of acti ons

I n the category of words, 100 Democrats in
Congress- 19 U. S. Senators and 81 U. S. Repre
antatives- passed the'Southem M anifesto"de
noundngtheCourt'sdedsion.ThoselOO Demo-
crats decl ared that desegregati on was "certai n to
destroy the system of publ i c educati on" and that
there would be what thecal led an "explosive and
dangerous condition created bythisdecision."

Atthestatela/el Democratic Governor Her-
man Talmadge of Geargia issued a written at-
tack on the Court ded si en and promisd that
there "will na/er be mi)ed schools while I am
Governor" M ississippi Democratic Governor
J amesC Coleman, when asked in an interview on
"M eet the Press^' whether the public schools of
M ississippi would e^er be integrated, succinctly
replied, "I would saythat a baby born in M issis-
sippi todaywill naerlixelongenoughtoseean
integrated school. "Thiswastypical of what many
southern Derrocratsdid in thecSegory of words

But the Democratic response went beyond
words and also induded actions. Following the

The REfUBUCiHS'PLATFORM

ment in thefield of civil rights and com-
mits itself anew to advancing the rights
of all our people regardless of race,
creed, color, or national origin. In the
area of exclusive federal jurisdiction,
more progress has been made in this
field under the present R epublican A d-
ministration than in any similar period
i n th e I ast 80 years t T he many N egroes
who have b«n appoi nted to high pub-
lic positions have played a significant
part in the progress of this Adminis-
tration. Segregation has been ended in
the D istrict of Columbia government
and in the District public facilities in-
cluding publicschools, restaurants, the-

t G iven the actions of President Eisenhower
on dvil rightsissues(seenoteon previous page re-
garding E isenhower and dvil rights), it wasnot sur-
prising that in his 1956 reelection, Eisanho/va' -
like Republican Presidents before him - receJNfid
significant support fnom black voters.

Following his reelection, Eisenhower contin-
ued his civil rights efforts. In 1957, he proposed a
boldcivil ri ghts bill to increeffi black voting rights
and protections- proposals promptly blocked by
Democratic Senator James Eastland of M issis-
sippi , theC hai rrren of theSenateJ udi daryC om-
mittffi: In fact, Eastland is credited with killing
every civil rights bill that came before his com-
mittee in the 1950s, and hiscommittffiwas liter-
ally known as the burial ground for civil ri^ts
legislation in theu. 5. Senate When Senate Re-
publ i canssDught to keep E i senhcwa-'sd vi I ri ghts
bill from going to Eastland's burial ground, only
10 Senate Democrats joined in that effort. Na/-
atheless, tho^fa/v Democrats, combined with
the strong Republican numbers, was suffident;
th^wereadeto praent Eisenhower's bill from
goi ng to E astland's committee

W ith Eastland unable to kill the bill in com-
mittee, other Senate Democrats responded with a
filibuster against the dvil rightsbill. In fact, South
C arolina'sSenatorStromT hurmond, still aD emo-

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights

25

The Dem ocRns'PnTfoiiM

1954 school desegregation decision, southern
D emocratic G overnors went to extreme lengths
to l<eep theC ourt decision from going into effect.
For example, in l955,DerTDcraticGo\yemorAllan
Shi va^ of Teas depi eyed the Texas R angers to
l<eEp bl acksfnDm entai ng publ i c school s i n M ans-
fieldThefdlcwingvear, l957,DerTDcraticGo\/-
emor Orval Faubus of Arkansas called out the
National Guard to keep black students from al-
tering Central High School InLittleRock. Hcw-
ae^, R epubl i can Presi dent D wi ^t D . E i saihcwer
i ntervened and f eda-al i zed theA rkansas N ati onal
Guard to takeitewvay fromGovemorFaubus H e
then replaced the Arkansas Guard with 1,200
troops fnDm the elitelOl*AirbomeDivi si on, or-
deri ng than to pnatect the ni ne bl ack studaits who
had chosai to go to Central High. Democratsin
the U. S. Senate strongly protested against
Eianhcwer's actions to protect theK black stu-
daits For scannpl^ Georgia Democratic Senator
Richard Russell sped fi call y complained about us-
ing 'the whole might of the federal government,
including the amrfid forces. . .tofonceacommin-
^ing of white and Negro children in the state-
supported schools of the state"

G eorgia D emocratic G overnor M arvin G rif-
fin also attacked E isenhower'sactionsbut praised
A rkansas G overnor F aubus for hi s attempt to pre-
vent blacks from entering Central H igh School.
G overnor G riff in promised that aslong asheheld
office, he would "maintain segregation in the
schools; and the races will not be mixed, come
hell orhigh water.'To prepare for thepossibility
that Eisenhower might do in Georgia what he
had done in Arkansas, legislation was introduced
in the D emocratically- controlled G eorgia legis-
lature so that if desegregation was attempted, the
pubiicschooisof thestatewouidbedissolvedand
replaced with state- run private schools so that
blacks could be excluded. These type of schools
became known as "segregation academies."

M eanwhile, in Arkansas, Democratic Gov-
ernor Faubus, unable to prevent black students
from attending school because of the federal pro-
tection they received, simply shut down the
schools for the next year to prevent further at-
tendance And Virginia Democratic Governor
James Almond - likeother southern Democratic

The REfilBUCUIS'PLATFORM

aters, and playgrounds.! he E isenhower
Administration lias eliminated dis-
crimination in all federal employment.
Great progress has been made in elimi-
nating employment discrimination on
the part of those who do business with
thefederal government and securefed-
eral contracts.! his A dministration has
impartially enforced federal civil rights
statutes, and we pledge that we will con-
tinue to do so. We support the enact-
ment of the civil rights program already
presented by the President to the Sec-
ond Session of the 84* Congress.!he
regulatory agencies under this Admin-
istration have moved vigorously to end
discrimination in interstate commerce.
Segregation intheactive Armed Forces

crat at that time, set the record in the U. S. Senate
for the longest individual filibuster speech e^er
gi\«i in Saiate history- over twenty- four hours
of continual speaking in his attempts to block
Eisnhowa''sl957 dvil rights blll.ThestiffDano-
cratic opposition in the Senate resulted in a wa-
tered-down \/sracin of Eisaihower's original bill.

Despite thefact that thebill was much weaka-
than introduced, Eianhowerdid succeed in cre-
ating a Civil RightsDIvision within the U.S. J us-
tioeDepartrrEnt.Thisdivisionsubffiquentlypl^fid
a prominent role in hdping scuredvil rights in
the South during the 1960s and 1970s That law
also started a Civil Rights Commisa on that be-
came instrumental in publidzing the effects of
southa-n segregation and racial oppresaon.

I n 1959, Eisenhcwer presented a ^cond civil
rights bill to Congress That bill was met with
unyielding opposition in the H ouse by Demo-
cratic Representati\«H cward Smith of Virginia,
C hai rrren of the H ouse R ul es C omrni ttffi: Smith
woul d actual I y di sappear from C ongressfor w^s
on end in order to keep hisoommittffifrom act-
ing on the civil rights bill. As had happened in
theSenatewiththeearlierElsaihowerdvil rights
bill, afa/v H ouse Democrats were willing to join

26

DEMOCRATsmo R[ pu B L ic HH SI Ih Thiir O/i h Words

The Dem ocors'Pi ArfORH

Governors- also shut down public schoolsin his
state rather than permit blaci<studentsto attend.

In l960inLouisiana,whereDerrDcraticGcM-
emorj immieDavissupported segregation, it re-
quired four federal marshal s to accompany I i ttl e
Ruby Bridges so she could attend a public el-
ementary school in New Orleans When Ruby
entered that school, a/ery other parent in that
school pulled theirchildren out of theschool, and
fortheentire>€ar, little Ruby was theonly stu-
dent inthat school building-justRubyandher
schoolteacher from Boston.

Some D emocrati c southern G ojemars, hcw-
a/er, did work for integration - indudingTen-
nessffiGcwernor Franl< Clement, Florida Gov-
ernor LeRcy Collins, and Kentucky Gcujemor
H appy C handler - but these tended to be the
escepti ons among southern D emocrati c G over-
nors rather than the rul ^ and thei r ad mi rabi e be-
havi or was cl earl y overshadowed by the negati ve
behavi or of the others

The REfUBUCHHS'PLATFORM

of the United States has been ended.
Forthefirsttimein our history there is
no segregation in veterans'hospitalsand
among civilians on naval bases.! his is
an impressive record. We pledge our-
selves to continued progress in thisfield.
. . .The Republican Party accepts the
decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court
that racial discrimination in publicly
supported schools must be progressively
eliminated. ^ Weconcur inthecondu-
sion of the Supreme C ourt that its de-
cision directing school desegregation
should be accomplished with "all de-
liberate speed" locally through Federal

District Courts This progress must

be encouraged and the work of the
courts supported in e^ery legal manner
by all branches of the federal govern-
ment to the end that the consti tuti onal
ideal of thelaw, negardlessof rao^ cr^d,
or color, be steadily achieved.

with the Republicans to get that bill beyond
Smith's committee. In fact. Democratic H ouse
member E manuel Cellerof N ew York, chairman
of the H ouse Judiciary Committee, exerted ex-
traordinary effort to move the bill forward even
though he was strongly opposed by other mem-
bers within his own party W hen the bill finally
passed the H ouse and arrived in the Senate, it
was gutted byD emocratsbeforebeing passed into
law, once again preventingthefederai government
from intervening on behalf of black Americans
whosedvil ri ghtswere being violated in theSouth.

N evertheless, massive gains were made in
civil rights through E isenhower'sleadershipand
with the aid of Republicans and some D emo-
cratsin Congress.

t This refers to the Court's Brown v. Board
of Education school desegregation decision. Sig-
nificantly Eisenhower's Attorney General had
appeared before the Court to urge the elimina-
tion of segregation.

On Riicin JiisTKi & QviL Rights

27

The Dem ocRns'PnTfouM
1960

W e shall also seek to create an affir-
mative new atmosphere in which to deal
with racial divisions and inequalities
which threaten both the integrity of our
democratic faith and the proposition on
which our nation wasfounded - that all
men are created equal.

1964

E nding discrimination based on race,
age, sex, or national origin demands not
only equal opportunity but the oppor-
tunity to be equal. ... We are firmly
pledged to continue the nation's march
towards the goals of equal opportunity
and equal treatment for all A mericans,
regardless of race, creed, color, or na-
tional origin.

The REfilBUCUIS'PLATFORM

1960

We supported the position of the
N egro school children before the Su-
preme Court. ' We belies the Su-
preme Court school decision should be
carried out i n accondanoe with the man-
date of the C ourt; conti nued vigorous
enforcement of the civi I rights laws to
guarantee the right to vote to all citi-
zens i n al I areas of the country; action
to prohibit discrimination in housing
constructed with the aid of federal sub-
sidies; removal of any vestige of dis-
crimination i n the operati on of federal
facilities or procedures which may at
any ti me be found . We pi edge the f ul I
use of the power, resources, and lead-
ership of the federal government to
el i mi nate di scri mi nati on based on rac^
color, religion, or national origin and
to encourage understanding and good
will among all races and cr^ds.

1964

Opposition to discrimination based
on race, creed, national origin or sex.
We recognize that the elimination of
any such discrimination is a matter of
heart, conscience, education, as well as
of equal rights under law. ^t

t See note on previous page about Brown v.
Board of Education,

ttT hisera marked thepassageofthreeland-
mark civil rigtits measures: ttie 1954 Civil Riglits
Act, tliel964 Constitutional Amendment abol-
ishing the poll tax {see note on abolishing pdl
ta)«s on page 20), and the 1965 Voting Rights
Act. H cw did these landmark measures become
law?

On Ricin Justice & Civil Rights 28

The Dem ocors'PiMf obh

The Repubucahs'Platform

When Democrat John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1950, he had been less willing than
Eisenhower to uti I izeei>«3Jti\«orderstoprorrDtedvi I rights H ea/en delayed for morethan two years
the signing of an e>«:uti\/e order to integrate public housing. H cmejer, following the violent racial
discord in Birmingham in 1953, Kennedysent a major civil rights bill to Congress- a bill based on the
findingsof Eisenhcwer'sl957 Civil RightsCommisgon. Kennedy worked aggressivelyforthepassage
of thatdvil rights bill but was tragically assassinated before he couldsffi its success

Democratic presidential successor Lyndon Johnson picked up the civil rights measure, but like his
predecessors, he faced stiff opposition from his own party In fact, DemocraticSenatorsRobert Byrd of
West Virginia and Richard Russell of Georgia led the opposition against the 1964 Civil Rights Act,
including lengthy and extended filibuster sp^hea Republican Senator Everett Dirksen resurrected
language proposed by Eisenhower's Attorney General in i960, thus breaking the filibuster of thedvil
rights bill and allowing Johnson to sign into law the Civil RightsAct of 1954, followed by the Voting
RightsActofl965.

Thesetwo important civil rights acts were signed into law undera Democratic President, but it was
the Republicans In Congress who made possible the passage of both acts, for Democratic President
Johnson had been unable to garner sufficient Democratic support to pass either bill. At that time.
Democrats had 315 members in Congress, holding almost two-thirds of the Housand two- thirds of
the Senate President Johnson needed only a majority- only259 xrotes- to get thos bills passed; but
outofthe3l5 Democrats, only 198 \«ted for passage. D emocrats had it completelywithin their power
to pass those bi 1 1 s and di d not do so. T he bi 1 1 s passed because Republ i cans overwhel mi ngl y came to the
aidof Democrat Presdentjohnson: in fact, 83 percentof Republicans\ADtedforthosebills,apercentage
of support al rrost twenty poi nts hi gher than that of the D emocrats I f not for the strong support of
Republicans, theCivil RightsAct of 1954 and theVoting RightsAct of 1965 would ne^er have becorre
law- not to rrentionthefact that the heart of both billscarrefromthework of Republican President
D wi ght D . E i senhower.

The 1954 Civil RightsAct had banned discrimination in voting, public accommodations, education,
federal programs, or employment.! he 1965 Voting RightsAct had banned literacytests and authorized
the federal government to over^ \xter reg strati onandelelionsin counti es that had used such tests
Those two Acts- along with the24'*'ArrendmenttotheConstitutioin- werethefinal culmination of
a century of civil rightslegislation, and of aen alonger period of attemptstosecureequal rightsand
raci al J ustice for Afri can A meri cans W hat was the effed: of these thrffi measures?

The positiveimpact of these changes wasimrrBdi ate For example wi thin ayear, 450,000 new southern
bl acks were successful I y regi stered to vote and voter regi strati on of bl ack A meri cans i n M i sa ssi ppi al so
rosesharply-fromonly5 percentin i960 to 60 percent byl958.Thenumber of blaoksffirvinginfederal
andstatelegislaturesrosefrcimonly2 inl965tol60 byl990.Thedisenfranchisementlawsandpolioies
I ong enforced by southern D errDorati c I egi si atures had f i nal I y corre to an end .